Yard Bird # 31 - Hairy Woodpecker

Taken though the window, which would usually means it's destined for the Delete bin ... but it came out crisper than I anticipated and I decided it's good enough for today.  This is a Hairy Woodpecker who looks very much like the slightly small Downy Woodpecker (Yardbird # 21 on 4 Feb).  The key differences, other than size, are the the length of the beak (hairy's is longer) and the broken red "cap" on the Hairy versus the solid cap on the Downy.  And, whereas I have downies every day, all year long, the Hairies aren't seen as often.  I heard this one when I was out pottering around - I went inside hoping he'd come to the feeders. It worked.  

It's rather chilly and windy today so I sat in front of my computer for much of the day working on the pics from Florida.  I posted 20 of my best/favorite shots from the first day at the rookery on an album in Flickr.  If you have an appetite for lots of nesting wading birds, you can view the album by clicking HERE.

In other yard news, the first catbird showed up today in the yard!  No photo ops as it was skulking around, but no question as to ID.  I always love it when the catbirds arrive.

Hubs is having a great time at the race, atlhough he just texted me to say that they had to bring the car into the pits just now with some sort of engine trouble.  This isn't uncommon on these long races (this one is 9 hours), but hopefully they can get it fixed quickly and back on the track.  

I am planning to join the local bird club for a walk tomorrow morning at one of my favorite trails.  It's only going to be in the 40's in the morning, so I will bundle up and try not to whine too much.

Cheers,
Debbi